5 Meals to Replenish Your Iron Stores

Iron deficiency is one of the most common deficiencies for everyone. If you’re experiencing iron deficiency it is important to adapt your diet in order to maintain and replenish your iron stores. Please keep in mind that getting a proper diet is NOT enough if you present really low stores of iron or anemia. In those case, you’ll need to reach out to your doctor to get the proper supplementation.

Why Might Your Iron Stores Be Low?

You can experience iron deficiency through multiple mechanisms. The most common is simply a lack of daily iron intake. You are particularly at risk if you’re following a restrictive diet (vegetarian, weight loss, paleo, etc.), if you’re naturally inclined to not eat a lot, or if you do not have a very balanced diet. This last point is particularly important for children as they are pretty often touched by iron deficiencies. Other possible reasons of iron deficiency can be excessive menstruations, digestive disorders, or inflammatory intestinal disease.

Low iron stores can be detected by a number of physiological signs. Some of the signs that you’re body might experience low iron stores include but are not limited to:

General physical fatigue

High tendency to get sick and slow recovery from diseases

Difficulty to focus and/or mood swing

Restless leg syndrome – an unpleasant feeling in your leg giving you the urge to move them (often experienced at night)

Insomnia

Hair loss

Even iron deficiency can present some signs, if you have any doubts then head for a biological analysis to evaluate your ferritin levels. If you discover a deficit then it is important to talk with your practitioner to identify the causes and correct them in a specific manner. In any case, it will also be important to complement this deficit by an increase in your iron intake.

Heme Iron

This will be find in animal sources and is the type of iron having the best bioavailability in your body. This means that your body will assimilate it better than non-heme iron. In general, meats will be your primary source of heme iron but fish and eggs can also constitute great sources of heme iron.

Non-Heme Iron

Found in plants and enriched foods, non-heme iron has a lower bioavailability than heme iron (from half to 5x less depending of your iron stores level). Dry legumes are one of the best source of non-heme iron. It is important to note that non-heme iron absorption by your body can be greatly impacted by other components. For example, vitamin C can greatly boost non-heme iron absorption while phytates will inhibit it.

Iron is essential to your good health but there is one main thing to worry about when trying to boost your iron levels: Iron plays an important role in oxidative reactions. An increase in iron intake will in turn show an increase free radicals. This is why you should systematically combine an iron rich alimentation with anti-oxidant foods to counteract this effect.

Now that we’ve spoke a bit about iron, let’s see 5 delicious meals that will help you boost your iron stores! And as always, don’t hesitate to leave a comment if you have any question or comment on this topic 🙂

The Iron Supercharge

A superb way to supercharge your iron stores. Get plenty of heme iron from your steak as well as non-heme iron from your green beans. Your non-heme iron will be boosted by the high vitamin C content of the lemon and cherry tomatoes and you'll benefit from the antioxidant effect of those foods. Tasty, easy and highly effective!

Prep Time15 minsCook Time15 minsTotal Time30 mins

3scallions

6ozgreen beans

1cupcherry tomatoes

fresh basil

1lemon

2sirloin steaks

Ingredients

3scallions

6ozgreen beans

1cupcherry tomatoes

fresh basil

1lemon

2sirloin steaks

Directions

1

A superb way to supercharge your iron stores. Get plenty of heme iron from your steak as well as non-heme iron from your green beans. Your non-heme iron will be boosted by the high vitamin C content of the lemon and cherry tomatoes and you'll benefit from the antioxidant effect of those foods. Tasty, easy and highly effective!

The Lean Meat Charger

This dish use cumin to supercharge your food. Yes that's right! You can use spices to get essential nutrient. Thyme and cumin are 2 good sources of iron and will also enhance taste while not adding calories 🙂

Prep Time5 minsCook Time20 minsTotal Time25 mins

300ggreen beans

6skinless, boneless chicken tighs (can be replaced by chicken breast if looking for the leanest option)

1tspcumin powder

2tspwhole cumin seeds

1tspchilli powder

2tspchilli flakes

1tbspvegetable oil

Ingredients

300ggreen beans

6skinless, boneless chicken tighs (can be replaced by chicken breast if looking for the leanest option)

1tspcumin powder

2tspwhole cumin seeds

1tspchilli powder

2tspchilli flakes

1tbspvegetable oil

Directions

1

This dish use cumin to supercharge your food. Yes that's right! You can use spices to get essential nutrient. Thyme and cumin are 2 good sources of iron and will also enhance taste while not adding calories 🙂

The Green Smoothie

That's not really a meal but this green smoothie will give you plenty of iron while being refreshing and energizing. This smoothie should suit well any green smoothie lover or people looking for a recipe to get started with green smoothies!

Prep Time10 mins

1lime, peeled, coarsely chopped

1Granny smith apple, peeled, coarsely chopped

1cucumber, coarsely chopped

½cupkale, stem trimmed, coarsely chopped

40gbaby spinach leaves

1tspfinely grated ginger

400mlcoconut water

Ingredients

1lime, peeled, coarsely chopped

1Granny smith apple, peeled, coarsely chopped

1cucumber, coarsely chopped

½cupkale, stem trimmed, coarsely chopped

40gbaby spinach leaves

1tspfinely grated ginger

400mlcoconut water

Directions

1

That's not really a meal but this green smoothie will give you plenty of iron while being refreshing and energizing. This smoothie should suit well any green smoothie lover or people looking for a recipe to get started with green smoothies!

ABOUT US

What you eat impact your health, body, and mind. We make it our mission to help you eat smarter, live better, and be happier! Also, healthy doesn't mean boring. Time to bring variety and colors in your plate!